Customer Reviews

Touch

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As a huge fan of Laura Branigan , This cd TOUCH is remarkable .The song Over Love is still clear with me, in my opinion you dont get over your first love, love deep down does not go away. Its magic. Like a Statue in the Rain .There is just something special with this one. A special TOUCH! Enjoy.
Dedicated to that special someone from my past to the future. Over Love, Angels Calling . Love always
R

Laura Branigan delivers the goods on "Touch", my all-time favorite LB album. "Shattered Glass" will have you singing along in no time, and her version of "Power Of Love" BLOWS AWAY Celine Dion's tame version. Check out this AMAZING cd from one of pop music's most underrated talents!

For Touch, her followup to the stunning Hold Me, Laura Branigan signed on with a new producer and came up with a sound that still recalls her early period, but somewhat tempered by a more melancholy sound. In many songs, she is "wearing the scars deep inside our desert hearts" that she mentions on "Shadows Of Love."

The first two songs are examples of that are the bittersweet "Over Love" and "Shadows Of Love." The second details the jarring feeling of now joining the ranks of the broken-hearted, being eclipsed by a woman her man never quite got over. Both songs are accompanied by a steady background of programmed drums and rock guitars. Power pop ballads, definitely.

"Angels Calling" shifts gears and is more positive. Along with the chorus of "Angels calling, stars are falling/I hear sounds of love/Heavens singing, hearts are ringing/I hear sounds of love," there is some pretty funky guitar and a heavy drums in the bridge.

A temporary shift of gears, actually, as "Meaning Of The Word" moves back to melancholia. Does living together without binding ties, does that self-denial imply that the couple in question know the meaning of the word? That's the question this song tries to answer.

She then effectively covers Jennifer Rush's oft-covered emotional powerhouse, "Power Of Love." Remember these lyrics: "Cause I'm your lady/and you are my man/whenever you reach for me/I'll do all that I can." Comparing this to the original, Air Supply and Celine Dion's versions, I prefer this one, as her voice is the most powerful. Her voice does strain occasionally, but it doesn't detract from the song.

The next two songs, "Shattered Glass" and "Whatever I Do" prove that Laura Branigan can handle Stock-Aitken-Waterman bubblegum that has been spiced up with electric guitar. The first has Laura averring that she can strike out on her own after a bad relationship: "You can shatter glass with your heart of stone/But you won't get far on your own/You keep running hot and blowing cold/And everything you hold just falls apart like shattered glass." The same theme crops up in the second song: "Whatever I Do, wherever I go/I'm never coming back to you." Both are the "Gloria"'s of this album.

If the sound of "Spirit Of Love" is familiar, check out the writers: Rick Nowels, Ellen Shipley, and Billy Steinberg. Belinda Carlisle or Stevie Nicks, right? The rhythm of the chorus, if some really crunchy guitar was added, would sound almost like Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name."

Laura then covers the silly "Name Game" song from the 1960's as a fun diversion before going on to the mid-paced title track, underscored by programmed drums and a heavy bass-synth ensemble.

"Cry Wolf" has Laura giving the cold shoulder to one who has scorned her love. The sadness and bitterness in this ballad is really apparent: "If you start to stumble, if you start to crack, and if you're feeling humble, don't look back." Let's assume that she gave him many last chances in order to feel that way. Stevie Nicks would later cover this song on The Other Side Of The Mirror, although this is more suited to Laura's vocals. Another proof that piano ballads are Laura's forte-q.v. "Foolish Lullaby", "I Found Someone" from Hold Me, "Will You Still Love Me" from Self Control.

This was the first time I heard "Statue Of Love," available only on the CD, and the keyboards with subtle shadings of Eddie Money's "Endless Night" find a home on the latter's Can't Hold Back. Touch is Laura Branigan's last stab at greatness, and her voice is nowhere as vital than here. A glance-over at her self-titled followup or the hard-to-get Over My Heart may yield a different assessment, but for now...

I actually bought the 45 spd. records of "POWER OF LOVE" and "SHATTERED GLASS" as they were subsequantly released as singles in 1987. They both received considerable radio airplay here in Chicago. Back in those days, I listened to Casey Kasem's American Top 40 religiously and I remember "THE POWER OF LOVE" reaching the top 40 but I don't think "SHATTERED GLASS" charted too high. That's a shame because it's an excellent STOCK,AIKEN,WATERMAN penned song. It was perfect for Laura's super-strong vocals as all of the song selections are. If you're fans of STOCK,AIKEN,WATERMAN as I am, check out the just released 3 cd compilation of their greatest hits;included are "VENUS"-BANANARAMA, "NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP"-RICK ASTLEY, "I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY"-KYLIE MINOGUE, "THIS TIME I KNOW IT'S FOR REAL"-DONNA SUMMER, "RESPECTABLE"-MEL & KIM and many others. However, "SHATTERED GLASS" wasn't included. Oh well, maybe in the next volume of "SAT" greatest hits. That's why I recommend this cd because it appears here along with another "SAT" cut. Long live LAURA BRANIGAN as her voice has been forever immortalized in all of her recordings. JULIUS-ALLAN

WHATEVER ALL OF U SAY THIS IS HER BEST WORK HER VOCAL POWER
IS AMAZING..NO ? LISTEN SHATTERED GLASS CAREFULLY OR WHAT ABOUT
ANGELS CALLING OR THE MEANING OF THE WORD I LOVE HER
WHAT A SHAME SHE IS NOT SINGING LIKE SHE USED TO SING
WHERE IS THAT GEM IN THE WORLD WASTING HER POWERFUL VOICE ?
I LOVE HER SINCE GLORIA..., TIME PASS QUICKLY...

I bought the album not knowing what to expect and simply love it! I do not understand why it wasn't more popular when it was released. Laura Branigan sings with more power and emotion than any other female singer I know. I highly recommend TOUCH!

this is one of the best recordings by any artist i have ever heard.. a true gem."power of love" actually makes my heart ache, it is so wrenching.i will never understand why more hits did not come from this.

Length:: 0:49 Mins

I'm, again, shocked to see this particular album selling so expensively! I found it in the spring of 2003 for less than 5 dollars! It's astounding!

"Touch" is Laura's 1987 album, and is my all-time favorite of hers. There's too many GREAT songs on here for me to pick a favorite. This is actually the first Laura I ever bought, and have been HOOKED ever since.

"Over Love" and "Shadow of Love" are the two openers and are both ballads. Laura's voice is SO suited to sing this kind of material it's a little scary. "Angels Calling" is up-tempo and kind of rocks. It actually took me a long time to really start liking this song because I always responded to the slow, sad ones more, but Laura's voice is so emotive and so powerful on this song that it's simply irresistable. "Meaning of the Word" is another down-tempo song, and this one has really cool beats and neat synth. If I had to come CLOSE to picking a favorite, it would PROBABLY be this one. And the lyrics are so smart! Next up is "The Power of Love," the SAME song that Celine Dion made a monster hit in 1994. Laura's range and pitch are similar to Dion's, and the song is basically set up the same as her version, but ... Laura can't QUITE seem to hit those higher notes, but that, to me, makes the song more affective because the HEARTBREAK really comes across when Laura begins to strain, at least I think this was the intent. "Shattered Glass" is a synth-driven dance song that was released as a single, but only managed #53 on the American pop chart ... but was a hit in gay clubs! "Whatever I Do" and "Spirit of Love" are two more danceable songs and both are good. The lyrics and hooks on "Spirit" are outstanding. "Name Game" is a kooky cover. I think Laura probably wanted to play this up to be a camp-act on stage, but ... I don't think it quite happened like that. Or maybe she was forced to record it, but ... WHY?! "Touch" is mid-tempo, sexy and salacious, not dissimilar to Sheena Easton's "Strut." And like "Strut," it works. "Cry Wolf" is the second-to-last song, and was also covered by Stevie Nicks in 1989 ... but unfortunately I like Stevie's performance better. Sorry! "Statue in the Rain" closes the CD. It's another mid-tempo, but it's very poetic.

Why Laura was never a phenomenon is beyond me. This album was her sworn testimony as to why she should have been. It's sad, really.

Without a doubt this is Laura's BEST cd of her entire career. I own all of her works and i play this more than anything she has put out. While her past cds have had a few cheesy cuts, and some cuts that made me wonder what was she thinking, there is not one bad track on this disc. SOLID from start to finish, with topnotch slick production. The songs are also some of the best written i've ever heard her sing. I wish i could give this cd 6 stars. If you are a fan of Laura Branigan you NEED to add this cd to your collection. You will NOT be disappointed in the least. There is a good mix of dance and ballads, and i think Laura's version of The Power Of Love is the best version ever! It just totally knocks Celine Dion's version right out of the water!!!